Contact: Will Sansom
Phone: 210-567-2579
E-mail: sansom@uthscsa.edu

An adjustable arm sling designed to fit on hospital bed rails is helping soldiers to heal with less swelling and impairment after serious upper-extremity burns. Two of the developers are faculty members of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Surgery Professor Steven E. Wolf, M.D., was on the team that developed the adaptable arm sling for military burn patients.
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Health Science Center team worked with Army researchers to develop sling
A team at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, developed the sling. “Proper positioning of the patient’s arm is important because it prevents swelling, improves range of motion of the upper extremities, protects skin grafts and minimizes scarring that could require more surgery,” said team member Steven E. Wolf, M.D., professor of surgery at the Health Science Center and holder of the Betty and Bob Kelso Distinguished Chair in Burn and Trauma Surgery at the university.

Col. John B. Holcomb, M.D., a surgeon at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and clinical faculty member at the Health Science Center, also worked on the project. He and Dr. Wolf collaborated with occupational therapists Ted Chapman and Chuck Quick and physical therapists Travis Hedman and Scott Dewey.

The adjustable arm sling for burn patients is designed to reduce swelling, protect skin grafts and minimizing scarring. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.

Good success in promoting healing
The sling consists of a bed rail adaptor, a 45-degree adjustable bracket, an elevation post with a universal joint and an arm tray. “We are having good success with it compared to previous positioning methods, which were not stable, reliable or durable,” Dr. Wolf said. “After months of use, we have concluded that it provides the necessary prolonged stretch required to manage burn scars. The sling enables therapists to maximize outcomes by reducing swelling, protecting grafts and minimizing scarring.”

National Trauma Institute
Several San Antonio partners in trauma care have come together to form the National Trauma Institute. They are Brooke Army Medical Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery), the University Health System, the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and Wilford Hall Medical Center.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $536 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $14.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.


The National Trauma Institute exists to fund, develop, evaluate and rapidly implement revolutionary medical technologies that will improve clinical outcomes based on high-quality, unbiased, translational research. The NTI will be the premier grant-making institution for translational trauma research modeled after the successful U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research Orthopaedic Trauma Research Program. The ultimate goal is to increase and improve survival and quality of life for victims of trauma and burn injury.